H100i or OcUK Fathom 240?

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So I thought I'd gotten away with having a failure-free H100i. I hadn't and just 6 weeks before it's warranty, it's been RMA'd.

Now Corsair are being brilliant about it, as normal, they've paid for all the (international) shipping cost and sent me out a brand new unit (not reconned)

I'm having a dilemma. Should I just use the replacement H100i or should I flog it, still sealed in it's cellophane and go for a Fathom, which I really like the look of.

One thing that's putting me off with the fathom is the price, since it includes a pair of Corsair SP120 fans, which I don't need so I don't really want to be paying for fans that I either have to make the effort to sell on or stick in the back of a cupboard.

And before those of you that don't like W/C. I have big-air in my rig as my backup, I don't like it, don't like the idea of 1kg of bare metal hanging off my board right above my GPU
 
I'd rather put that kind of cash towards a proper custom loop personally. It does offer better temps than an H100 though...
If not, and you're happy with the H100 (when it works), maybe try another one unless the looks of the Fathom are too good to ignore?

Btw, there's nothing to be concerned about regarding the weight of an aircooler if you've fitted it properly ;) It's all in your head :p
 
Uncle Petey said:
I'd rather put that kind of cash towards a proper custom loop personally. It does offer better temps than an H100 though...
If not, and you're happy with the H100 (when it works), maybe try another one unless the looks of the Fathom are too good to ignore?

Btw, there's nothing to be concerned about regarding the weight of an aircooler if you've fitted it properly ;) It's all in your head :p
Click to expand...

That opens another question, how far can the Eisberg pump go in terms of expansion, would it take say another 120mm rad and a GPU? (not that my current GPU needs water, on air I've not had it go above 50°c and stayed quiet)

As for the big air, the fact that I had to fit the rather large back-plate (compared to the original) is where the worry comes from.
 
I think I recall Rjkoneil saying that they wouldn't be doing 360 rad versions of the Fathom due to pump limitations and/or the noise of then having to run it at full whack, so I'd say no to the extra rad/gpu block if that's the case.

Those big backplates are what take the strain. What cooler are we talking about btw?
 
Uncle Petey said:
I think I recall Rjkoneil saying that they wouldn't be doing 360 rad versions of the Fathom due to pump limitations and/or the noise of then having to run it at full whack, so I'd say no to the extra rad/gpu block if that's the case.

Those big backplates are what take the strain. What cooler are we talking about btw?
Click to expand...

Matterhorn Pure, on AM3.

TBH I can't see myself needing to expand it, it was more of a curiosity. If I got to that stage then I'd probably just go for a full custom.
 
Then it's really up to you. Great looks and lower temps with the downsides of big price and lack of expandability.

If spending that much, I'd think about about looking at a WC kit or separates to at least give you the option of expandability should you decide to go that way in the future.
It is a nice, convenient solution though.

That Matterhorn's a lightweight btw :D
 
Uncle Petey said:
Then it's really up to you. Great looks and lower temps with the downsides of big price and lack of expandability.

If spending that much, I'd think about about looking at a WC kit or separates to at least give you the option of expandability should you decide to go that way in the future.
It is a nice, convenient solution though.

That Matterhorn's a lightweight btw :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, really I'm just looking for aesthetics given that I've got a Phantom 410 case. It's rare that I actually do anything intensive with my PC these days in reality so I just want it to look pretty lol. Most of the components in my rig are Corsair, Fans, PSU, RAM etc which is why I'm still considering keeping the H100i. Call it brand-loyalty or "fanboi-ism" if you will but everything matching has an appeal.

Oh and once you add 2 SP120s on to the matterhorn, gets a little heavy lol
 
One broken H100i does not mean the next one will be. It has a 5-year warranty.

If you don't need extreme cooling for extreme overclocking, H100i is overkill, and a Fathom would be.. multi-kill?
 
Good air coolers like the NH-D14 can almost match the top AIO water coolers. So I suggest you either get an a good air cooler or if you're set on water, go for a custom loop.
 
Make said:
One broken H100i does not mean the next one will be. It has a 5-year warranty.

If you don't need extreme cooling for extreme overclocking, H100i is overkill, and a Fathom would be.. multi-kill?
Click to expand...

And I agree with that however the one that I just RMA'd was a replacement for the first one I had which went pop 3 days after purchase.

I'm not gonna bad-mouth Corsair over it though, their CS dept has been absolutely spot on for both RMAs, paying all the costs etc.

And you're right about not being completely needed. As I said above, I just find it more aesthetically pleasing.
 
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